Food, Wine & Cultural Journey THE ARTS

Morocco 8 nights/ 10 days October 2-11, 2016 $5,299 (Based on double occupancy) Journey throughout the Kingdom of Morocco while sampling the local cuisine, visiting local wineries and exploring some of the most iconic cultural sites.

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Moroccan Highlights

 10 days & 8 nights  Small group size with your own private guide and transportation.  Explore the medinas (local markets), mosques like Hassan II, and sample the local wines and cuisine throughout your journey.  Explore two of the finest wineries Morocco has to offer including wine tastings at Thalvin Winery outside Casablanca and the lovely Château Roslane, one of the most ancient wineries in the country.  Take part in a cooking class at the La Maison Arabe cooking school located in the medinas of Marrakech.  Explore the high Atlas Mountains with a visit to learn about Argan oil production. Community Connections

 Interact with the local people and have the chance to engage with them one on one

What’s Included:

Not Included:

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4 & 5* accommodations throughout All transportation and activities outlined Group transfers to and from the international airport International air to and from Casablanca (gateway city set tentatively for New York) Local English speaking guide throughout Most meals and tips

Personal expenses at the hotel Meals not specified Tips for maid/cleaning staff Passport and/or renewal fees Domestic flight to gateway city Departure taxes where applicable

F O O D , WI N E A N D C U L T U R E | DAY-BY-DAY Casablanca, Morocco

DAY 3 Day Trip to Benslimane After breakfast at the hotel, depart for your journey to Benslimane - home to the Thalvin Winery. Enjoy a wine tasting today and lunch at the winery. In 1926, 50 km. northeast of Casablanca, on the fields of Ouled Taleb Benslimane, was born the oldest winery still in operation in the kingdom. Thalvin has two bottling lines with a production capacity of 6.5 million bottles per year. New York, USA

DAY 1 - Fly to Casablanca Depart from New York and head for Casablanca, Morocco this evening. The stunning beauty and friendly people alone are worth a visit! Casablanca, Morocco

DAY 2 - Arrival and welcome Upon arrival the group will be met will enjoy a driving tour of the city as you head to lunch at a local restaurant. Visit the Hassan II Mosque which took 6,000 traditional Moroccan artisans five years to build. This magnificent mosque, with its intricate mosaics, stone and marble floors and columns, sculpted plaster moldings, carved and painted wood ceilings. It's the largest mosque in the world, with room for more than 100,000 worshippers.

Confident in the authenticity of its wines and in order to boost the image of Morocco's wine abroad, Thalvin devotes part of its production for export and, in recent years, its wines are served in some of the best restaurants in the world. Return to the city this afternoon for a bus tour of Casablanca before dinner on your own. Overnight: Kenzi Tower Hotel Included meals: Breakfast & Lunch

RICK’S CAFE

Make your way from there to settle into your lovely five-star hotel with some free time to relax. Dinner will be provided this evening at the famous Rick’s Café. Made famous by the 1942 film Casablanca, enjoy local delicacies and sample local wines paired with your meal. Overnight: Kenzi Tower Hotel Included meals: Lunch & Dinner

Set in an old courtyard-style mansion built against the walls of the Old Medina of Casablanca, the restaurant/piano bar is filled with architectural and decorative details reminiscent of the film: curved arches, a sculpted bar, balconies, balustrades as well as dramatic beaded and stenciled brass lighting and plants that cast luminous shadows on white walls.

Food & Wine | www.nandajourneys.com | 888-747-7501

F O O D , WI N E A N D C U L T U R E | DAY-BY-DAY Marrakech, Morocco

Casablanca, Morocco

DAY 4 - Free Day for independent Exploration

DAY 5 - Transfer to Marrakech

Enjoy some time to explore this fascinating city independently. Sleep late and enjoy the lovely hotel amenities with lunch on your own.

After breakfast, check out of your local hotel and make your way towards Marrakech via private bus.

Morocco offers some of the finest Mediterranean, French and fresh seafood in the world, a focal point for your journey. Dine this evening at the Cabestan Restaurant, an iconic foodie location for over 40 years. Chef Fabien Caboy reigns in the kitchen offering you a choice of subtle and delicate Mediterranean dishes. A lounge bar and a very exclusive club are two more reasons to revisit this exceptional place. Let yourself be lulled by the beauty of the Atlantic Ocean while enjoying exceptional culinary creations in a chic, cozy atmosphere.

The magic of Marrakech has a lot to do with its setting. It lies at the foot of the High Atlas, on an ancient trade route through the Sahara. You can feel the energy of Africa in the Djemaa el Fna, Marrakech's main square. For almost a thousand years the square has played host to a nightly carnival of singers, tumblers, sorcerers, herbalists, storytellers and snake charmers. Lunch is on your own this afternoon before checking into your local hotel. This afternoon you will explore some of Marrakech’s main historical sites like Koutoubia Mosque, Bahia Palace, Medersa ben Youssef, Majorelle Gardens and the Jemaâ el Fna Square. Dinner will be at a traditional Moroccan restaurant like the Palais Gharmata.

Overnight: Riad Palais Sebban Hotel Included meals: Breakfast & Dinner Overnight: Kenzi Tower Hotel Included meals: Breakfast & Dinner

Food & Wine | www.nandajourneys.com | 888-747-7501

F O O D , WI N E A N D C U L T U R E | DAY-BY-DAY Marrakech, Morocco

Fez, Morocco

DAY 6 - Cooking Class!

DAY 7 - Depart for Fez

After breakfast, head to your cooking class at one of the famous Riads in Marrakech: “La Maison Arabe.”

After an early breakfast, check out of your local hotel and head towards Fez via Beni Mellal and the Cedar Woods of the Middle Atlas Mountains. The area all

Opened in 1946, La Maison Arabe has achieved a legendary status in Marrakech. Ideally situated in the medina, the hotel includes 26 rooms and suites, most with private terraces and fireplaces, 3 restaurants, a piano bar, and a world-famous cooking school as well as a new spa including a traditional hammam, where natural products from the region of Marrakech are used. The workshops are conducted by a dada (traditional Moroccan cook) or a chef from their Moroccan restaurant. Small groups work alongside a translator using easy-to-use modern equipment found in everyday kitchens. At the end of each workshop, participants dine on the meal they have prepared.

along this trip is amazing so don’t forget to have your camera handy! Stop for lunch in the Bine el Ouidane Region. Then continue on to Fez where you will arrive late this afternoon. Nothing quite prepares you for Fez. The world’s only intact medieval city, Fes is a teeming warren of narrow lanes, blind alleys and fondouks where you’re too busy trying to keep up with what’s happening around you to reach for your camera and where getting lost is all part of the adventure. Overnight: Hotel Barcelo Included meals: Breakfast & Lunch Fez, Morocco

DAY 8 Explore the city After breakfast, the whole day will be devoted to the exploration of Fez, the most ancient of the imperial cities founded in the 8th century by Moulay Idriss II.

This afternoon you will visit a local cooperative producing Argan Oil in the High Atlas. The oil is sold in Morocco as a luxury item and is difficult to find for sale outside the region. The Atlas Mountains are a magnet for trekkers, mountain bikers, enthusiasts of Amazigh (Berber) culture and anyone in search of solitude. Overnight: Riad Palais Sebban Hotel Included meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Visit the medieval Medina with its Attarine and Bou Anania Medersas, the Nejjarine Fountain, Moulay Idriss Mausoleum, and the Karaouine Mosque. Lunch is on your own this afternoon before your last stop at Fez Jdid. Dinner tonight is at Maison Blanche. Imagined and executed with a luxurious interior terrace set on two levels, the restaurant is delightfully designed with gray natural stone walls. Overnight: Hotel Barcelo Included meals: Breakfast & Dinner

Food & Wine | www.nandajourneys.com | 888-747-7501

F O O D , WI N E A N D C U L T U R E | DAY-BY-DAY Casablanca, Morocco

DAY 9 - Winery Tour and Return to Casablanca

After breakfast, visit and tour one of the most ancient wineries in Morocco - Château Roslane. Enjoy a tour and wine tasting this morning. Roslane was the first wine chateau in Morocco, located in the AOC Coteaux de l'Atlas, which combines history, modernity, tradition and refinement. The Castle Roslane includes a cellar of 70,000 hectoliters of which 11,000 are in thermostatically controlled stainless steel vats. They have three sorting tables for the reception of grapes, a coaxial heat exchanger for cooling the entire harvest, pneumatic presses, and the aging cellars buried with continuous monitoring of temperature and humidity with a capacity of 3,000 oak barrels and 3 million bottles. Lunch will be provided at Villa des Pins this afternoon before making your way back to Casablanca. Time permitting, stop in Meknes en route to see the city. A farewell dinner will be provided this evening at Basmane Restaurant.

Casablanca, Morocco

DAY 10 Depart After breakfast, check out and head to the airport for your early afternoon flight home (flight times subject to change). Say goodbye to Morocco as you head back to New York (arrival the same day).

Overnight: Kenzi Tower Center Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Food & Wine | www.nandajourneys.com | 888-747-7501

F O O D , WI N E A N D C U L T U R E | DAY-BY-DAY

Casablanca

Kenzi Tower Boulevard Zerktouni, Casablanca, Morocco International number: +212 522 978000 http://www.kenzihotels.com/kenzitower/default-fr.html

Marrakech

Riad Palais Sebban 43 Derb Moulay Abdellah Ben Hsseine Marrakech, Morocco International number: +212 524-440 225 http://www.riad-palais-sebban.com/

Fez

Hotel Barcelo 53 Avenue Hassan II, Fez, Morocco International number: +212 535-948 800 www.barcelo.com/barcelohotels/en_us/

Food & Wine | www.nandajourneys.com | 888-747-7501